Lapis Lazuli (Canon)
"GWHAHAHAHAH:) Appearance skirt, which is knee-length with a downward-facing dark blue Being imprisoned in the mirror, which used her gem to power it, Lapis was an object that recorded all Gem history and culture witnessed in the reflective side, spending a long period in solitary confinement during her imprisonment in the mirror. Eventually, the mirror was found by the Crystal Gems at the Galaxy Warp, and was handed over to Steven by Pearl in "Mirror Gem" so he could learn about Gem culture. When Pearl was not able to activate it, she assumed that it was broken. However, when away from Pearl, Lapis Lazuli revealed herself to Steven by talking to him through the mirror's recordings. Lapis was then able to communicate with Steven, persuading him to free her. Steven released her physical form and individual consciousness by removing the gemstone from the back, shattering the mirror. Gem Not much is known about the history of Lapis Lazuli, except that she was trapped in the mirror. She is firmly convinced that the Crystal Gems had something to do with it. Lapis' gem was apparently damaged after she was trapped, which impaired her abilities. However, it was healed by Steven's saliva. While fighting the Crystal Gems, she furiously asked them if they even wondered who she was, accusing them of not helping her even though they knew someone was trapped in the mirror. In "The Message", Lapis sent a video message via the Wailing Stone warning Steven that Peridot was coming to Earth with another Gem. Lapis urged Steven and the Crystal Gems not to put up a fight, as Gem technology had advanced since she had last been to the Homeworld, and a fight would only lead to devastation. In "The Return", she was brought to Earth by Peridot and Jasper aboard the Gem Warship against her will. This is evidenced by the way Jasper manhandled her after the Gem Warship crashed, as well as the fact that she was kept in a prison cell while on board. Later, after the ship was destroyed, she was seemingly persuaded by Jasper to fuse with her. She did so, but revealed that she fused with Jasper into Malachite so she could trap both of them at the bottom of the sea. In "Love Letters", Garnet mentions that she has been searching the ocean floor for Lapis and Jasper, but thus far hasn't found any trace of them. In "Chille Tid", Lapis is shown to be able to communicate with Steven through his dreams. Lapis states that she does not want Steven and the other Crystal Gems to find her because she is committed wholeheartedly to staying fused as Malachite in order to prevent Jasper from escaping or gaining control of Malachite. In "Cry for Help", it is revealed that she was sent to Earth with Peridot as an informant, considering Peridot's lack of knowledge regarding Earth. Personality While she is kind and friendly with Steven Universe, Lapis Lazuli is bitter, vindictive, and mistrusting towards the Crystal Gems, believing they care more about the Earth than their own kind, likely due to their being unaware for so many years about her captivity. When confronted with an enemy more powerful than herself, she displays a defeatist and worried approach. She believes that putting up a struggle can only make the situation worse. In "The Message", she delivers a frantic message to Steven about the approaching invasion, begging him to submit to the Homeworld should they cross paths. In "Jail Break", she gives similar advice when Steven stumbled across her, mentioning Homeworld might go easy on them if they follow orders. However, Lapis can change into an aggressive being if necessary. She expresses an overwhelming desire to return home, going as far as to use one of the Earth's oceans to create a giant water construct for the purpose of using it as a lift in order to get closer. In doing so, she shows that she can be rather inconsiderate and indifferent, as she does not care about the human race or the Earth, with the exception of Steven. Overall, Lapis is a passionate Gem who doesn't hesitate to fight anyone who stands against her, but is grateful to Steven for releasing her and then healing her gem despite being pained at her hand. Lapis is also portrayed as being a martyr, loyal to Steven and willing to suffer if it means protecting him from Jasper or any danger in addition to Malachite. However, she is also shown to be very stubborn and hesitant in cooperating or accepting help from others unless she has no other choice, seen in both "Jail Break", when she refuses to be set free by Steven, and "Chille Tid," where she is reluctant to give the Crystal Gems her location for them to find her and aid in the situation. Abilities Lapis possesses standard Gem abilities, bubbling, shape-shifting, fusion, regeneration, agelessness, and superhuman strength/durability. She is mentally strong, as she is able to overtake Jasper when they are fused. Fusions * When fused with Jasper, they form Malachite. Unique Abilities * Hydrokinesis: Lapis appears to have immense power over water and liquid material, demonstrated by her ability to divide a path through the sea and turn the entire ocean into a space elevator. ** Flight: When Lapis' gemstone was healed, it was shown that Lapis can fly using water-wings that extend from her gemstone. These particular water constructs can propel her at high velocities as an evasive maneuver or as a method of transportation. Her wings have the capability to get Lapis all the way to Homeworld in less than a year, possibly even a month. She can't summon her wings with a cracked gem, unlike her other abilities. ** Water Generation: In addition to manipulating existing liquid, Lapis can generate a certain amount of water from her gem. However, it is unknown whether the water is somehow stored within her gemstone, or if, as an extension of her hydrokinesis, she simply condensed the water molecules in the air into a liquid form. ** Water Constructs: Lapis is capable of forming water into various constructs that she can control. She has shown to form hands out of water that she can use to smite enemies or use as a platform. She is also able to form chains to entangle or trap enemies with. ** Water-Walking: Lapis can walk on water. ** Hydromimicry: Lapis can use her control over water to create flawless, powerful water clones of her enemies. The clones appear to possess the same fighting styles as the originals, as demonstrated by water Garnet's strength and water Amethyst's constant shape-shifting. They also have the ability to regenerate when damaged and even split to create new clones, making them effectively invincible against most attacks. The only thing that has been shown damaging them was a sound wave from Steven's shield. She showed her ability to imitate when she was trapped inside the mirror. Relationships Crystal Gems Lapis is shown to have a deep-seated distrust of the Crystal Gems, going so far as to warn Steven not to trust them. She made water clones of the Crystal Gems in order to fight them. Her anger seems to stem from her being forcibly trapped in a mirror by them, preventing her from going back home and keeping her on Earth, a planet which she had no belief in. Her animosity seems to be aimed towards the Crystal Gems in general—suggesting she had knowledge of the Crystal Gems prior to her imprisonment—instead of just Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl specifically, as the trio apparently had no clue she was trapped in the mirror. Jasper .]] When Lapis returned to Homeworld, she was forced into helping to defeat/capture the Crystal Gems. Jasper was made her superior. Jasper does not seem to care much for her, having no problems with imprisoning her after finding out Lapis withheld information from her. Jasper also called Lapis a brat after she tried to escape from the destroyed Gem warship. When Jasper asked for Lapis' help to stop the Crystal Gems by fusion, Lapis consented, forming Malachite. However, she double-crossed Jasper by using her power to control the water and imprison both of them at the bottom of the ocean. in Malachite's Realm.]]Lapis shows a lot of mistrust, hatred and fear towards Jasper, mostly due to Jasper's aggression towards Steven, projecting all her indignation on being a constant prisoner on her. She has no problem with being fused with her if it means the protection of Steven, sacrificing her freedom, taking Jasper underwater and mentally tangling with her for even temporary control of their unstable fusion in order to keep him safe. Trivia * Lapis Lazuli is shown to be exceptionally powerful, being able to control the entire ocean, making it into a giant tower-construct and creating water-duplicates of the Crystal Gems to fight them off, all while in the midst her gem was cracked. She was also able to become the dominant personality when she fused with Jasper, and imprisoned them both, once again, using the entire ocean to her advantage by weighing them down. She was even able to stabilize her fusion-form, despite the Gems' lack of synchronization, whereas any forms of mismatch would usually cancel the fusion. ** Despite this, Jasper was able to push her around effectively, though this could have been purely psychological. Lapis was unsure and lacking hope in herself when Jasper imprisoned her aboard Peridot's ship, while Lapis was hurt from the ship's destruction when Jasper caught her midflight. * There was a lot of attention to detail to her design/change during her introductory episode. When her gemstone was cracked, she did not have irises nor pupils in her eyes with her eyes being replaced by mirrors. However, after being healed by Steven, she gained dark blue irises with no visible pupils in her eyes. Another example would be the way she moves; compared to other characters, who have human-like, but still slightly jerky movements, her animation is very smooth and fluid. The contrast is seen best when Steven talks to Lapis atop her tower. ** Lapis Lazuli is the only Gem with a color scheme that consists of only four colors, making her the simplest colored Gem thus far. ** When Lapis' gem is cracked, her color scheme is a darker shade of blue. * Ian Jones-Quartey revealed in response to a fan that Lapis' hydrokinesis is her weapon, making her the first Gem shown to summon something other than a tangible item.Ian Jones-Quartey on Twitter Q': "''What are Lapis and Peridot's weapons?" '''A: "Lapis' weapon is water control! You'll just have to keep watching to find out more about Peridot." * Lapis and Steven demonstrate that Gems are adaptable in the vacuum of space. * Similar to other Homeworld Gems and Peridot, Lapis has a diamond pattern on middle of her clothing. ** Hers, however, is large and dark blue, instead of small and yellow. ** The diamond is also split in the middle, due to the style of her outfit. ** This shows that diamonds are a symbol of Homeworld, as shown by Jasper and Peridot's outfits and their superior, Yellow Diamond. * Greg's drawing of Lapis Lazuli on the album cover for 'Water Witch' has a striking resemblance to Lapis' concept sketches. *According to Aivi & Surasshu, Lapis' instrument is the Celesta. Her secondary palette includes strings, piano, and timpani. Lapis' music is inspired by the Romantic era of classical music.Surasshu on Tumblr Q': "''Hey, could you tell us what Lapis Lazuli's instrument is??" '''A: "Lapis’ secondary palette also includes strings, piano, and timpani–her sound is inspired by the Romantic era of classical music." *Lapis's imprisonment in the mirror may be a reference to the story of Echo and Narcissus from Book III of the Metamorphoses. **Echo was a nymph who was cursed so that she may only repeat what others say. **Echo was enamored with Narcissus, who had fallen in love with his own reflection. * A silhouette bearing a striking resemblance to Lapis appeared in "The Answe]". However, it is not confirmed if it is really her or not. Gemology Gemstone Information * Lapis lazuli, often referred to as just 'lapis', is a deep blue semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color. * Lapis lazuli is assigned to the planet Jupiter. Lapis may be given as a gem on the seventh and ninth wedding anniversary. * Today, lapis is common, carried out of the mines of Afghanistan in tin trunks from which it is exported all over the world. Lapis was much more expensive decades ago than it is now. ** Smaller quantities are mined in Italy, Mongolia, the United States and Canada. * A soft stone, 5 -5.5 on the Mohs scale of hardness, lapis lazuli is one of the most valuable semi opaque stones. * Lapis usually forms in crystalline marble through the geological process of contact metamorphism and due to its composition, it is technically defined as a rock rather than a mineral. ** It is primarily composed of Lazurite, while the remaining composition is made up of Sodalite, Calcite, Pyrite and other various minor constituents. The varying composition is what influences its exact coloring. * Lapis lazuli is normally associated with power and gods, even being found in statues of gods since Mesopotamian times nearly six thousand years ago. This matches with Lapis' overwhelming power as a single Gem who is able to fight three other Gems (one being a fusion) to a standstill even with her own gemstone cracked. ** Lapis lazuli is said to stimulate the desire for knowledge, truth and understanding, and aids the process of learning. It is believed to strengthen total awareness, creativity, and helps to expand viewpoint. ** A stone of truth, lapis encourages honesty of the spirit, and in the spoken and written word. It is also a stone of friendship and brings harmony in relationships. * The word, lapis-lazuli, comes from Latin. Lapis means stone; lazuli translates to blue. The Arabic word, l’azulaus means blue, heaven and sky. * When lapis lazuli is originally mined, it often has to be treated with water to reveal it's true brilliant colors. Gemstone Category:Canon Category:Canon Characters Category:Homeworld Gems